Over Your Head
by Starship Artisan
Summary: For Origami Stars' Fears Contest. When it comes to the darkness, Luigi truly is in over his head. The power outage and danger of a killer do not help. Character death(s).


A/N: Hey look, another contest fic! Sorry, these just seem to tickle my fancy a little too much so I wrote this up for the hell of it. Hope you enjoy.

**Disclaimer:** Nope, don't own SSBB.

* * *

_Over Your Head _

* * *

The darkness swallows you in an instant and you panic.

It doesn't help that your brother would always joke about it, saying that it was childish to be afraid of the dark when you're a grown man. You beg to differ, for you've always been scared of the childish things. He would shrug, and drop it at that. No more reasons to argue.

This is a bit different, though. Lightning flashes every few moments and you swear you can make out silhouettes along the wall, even though nobody is in the room with you. Your hands shake for your oil lantern that you know is somewhere in here, because it works better than your trusty flashlight during power outages.

You find it hidden under your bed in case of emergencies, and light it up quickly; letting out a sigh when light is cast from the flame and you're no longer completely in the dark.

But even then, your gloved hands continue to shake. Something doesn't seem right. Adjusting your hat and scanning the hallway for any threats, you walk down the hall in search of anyone you might recognize. The lantern sheds light to the dark hallway and helps to calm your nerves slightly, albeit not very much.

"Luigi? Is that you?"

You jump in surprise and spin around to face the voice, only to see Peach standing there. She looks worried.

You manage to calm down in seeing your friend, and she looks somewhat relieved.

"You scared me there, Peach. Is something wrong?"

"No…" she trails off. "I just want to find out what happened. I can't find anyone else, and I don't know why the power is out."

You're confused at the last part of her statement, because the weather seems like the obvious cause. Nervously, you ask, "What about the weather?"

"If that was it, then Pikachu would supply us with some instantly. You know that."

"Oh, right." You remember now, and thinking about it you feel stupid for not realizing it. Now, though, you're becoming even more concerned.

"What's going on over here?"

You hear the yell, but it seems to be from far away. You look nervously at Peach, who looks at you in surprise, and you both sneak towards the voice, which seems to come from around the corner of the far end of the hallway. Peach grabs your hand in one sharp motion, and it almost makes you jump in surprise. You turn to her, a slight blush on your cheeks, and are about to ask what's going on when she puts out the flame in the lantern.

Right, you're trying to sneak.

It takes a while for your eyes to adjust, and you and Peach stand there for a moment until you can see again. The dark is making you nervous, but at least you have someone else with you to help stay safe.

Sneaking to the corner, you bring your head as close to the wall as possible and peer around. You cannot see anyone at first, but then the lightning flashes and you can make out someone standing and staring at the ground. It's only for one second, but you catch a glimpse of something on the ground as well.

You bring your head back and look at Peach, bringing a finger to your lips to keep quiet. She obeys and stands with her back to the wall like you, and you stand there waiting. You hear no noise, suggesting that they haven't moved, when you turn your head to look around the corner again and you still cannot see anything in the darkness.

But then the lightning flashes again, and you make out what is on the floor. You return back to your hiding spot around the corner, and you remain still even though the figure isn't there anymore. Your eyes are wide and you can't move. This can't be happening.

Peach sees your dismay and whispers, "What did you see?"

You stand there as straight as a board and you cannot find words at the moment. You can only manage to let out a short burst of words.

"A body."

* * *

Once you both recover from the shock, Peach suggests that you see who it is. Having no other option, you take a deep breath and round the corner with Peach right behind you.

Your thoughts stop as you get closer, and see the bright yellow Pokémon laying there. Peach looks like she is terrified, and now you both know why there isn't any power.

"What do we do now?" she asks.

"I… I really don't know," you respond in earnest. A part of you is screaming in your mind to find whoever did this and stop them before they hurt anyone else, but another part of you is saying to hide away and wait for it to be over.

"Luigi." Peach places a hand on your shoulder. "Let's find them. We need to stop this and you know it."

You sigh because you know what has to be done. "Fine," you reply, "but let's find some of the others first. We'll need help."

She smiles at you and you can't help but admire her for being brave and somehow stay calm in a situation like this. You turn around abruptly so you can remain focused, and with a flare of determination, you head down the hall with her on your tail.

But all of your courage fades away when you see the open door to your left. You stop and grab Peach's arm as a precaution, as you open the door slowly to get a better look inside. Everything looks normal, and you get more nervous. It's not until Peach is swatting at you that you realize how tight you had been holding her arm, and she moves past you into the room. You are about to grab and pull her back in case there is danger, when you feel something poking into your back and you freeze.

"What are you doing going into my room?" they ask, and you quickly rush forward in an attempt to shield Peach, and you turn to see who is talking. Your posture relaxes when you see Marth, but he's still on his guard.

"We saw that your door was open and we wanted to check if you were okay," Peach explains to the prince.

He relaxes a bit, moving his sword to his side as a sign of trust. "Why wouldn't I be okay is my question? This is only a power outage."

You and Peach look at each other in worry and you beckon Marth to come forward. Ever so cautiously he does, and you shut the door from the peering shadows on the wall, not trusting the dark to keep secrets.

* * *

Marth couldn't speak. You watch him with sad eyes, because even he knows how dangerous this situation truly is, and his eyes don't leave the floor.

A few minutes pass, and finally Marth looks up at you. "I want to see the body. It might give us a clue as to who is responsible."

You swallow in hesitation, but you and Peach agree. Soon, the three of you are navigating your way back to the body, and you're careful in case the killer is nearby.

But you find nothing, no matter where you look. You're sure it was here, since there are only a number of windows in the hallway and you remember them being right next to one. What's more, there's no blood on the carpet yet you're sure you saw some earlier.

Peach agrees that this is where it happened, and Marth looks skeptical. You're worried that he doubts you now, and will leave you two alone. He doesn't, though, since he feels the carpet and notices how damp it is.

"Someone must have cleaned," he explains. "We need to hurry and find them."

"But how?" you ask, and he looks pensive for a moment.

Peach gets their attention and claims to have a plan, so both you and Marth listen. The plan is risky and has a chance of failure, but at this point you're not sure what else you can do.

* * *

Peach waits outside her room, sitting on the floor against the wall and watching for anything or anyone. You and Marth hide behind her door, waiting for the signal. Things are uneventful for quite a while, and your mind drifts to other mysteries that you have yet to think of.

Your first thought is what happened to everyone else, and your second being did _why_ is this even happening. You cannot think of a proper explanation, and you become even more worried as a result.

A thought creeps into your mind, one that you have neglected to think of as to not panic, but now it is worrying you even more. Your friends, and your brother, may very well be missing or dead and you have no idea where they may be or if they're even alive anymore. It scares you, and you wonder how Marth and Peach can somehow keep a calm head as this happens.

Although, chances are they are panicking just as much as you are.

But then you hear it, the signal.

The knock on the door.

You and Marth immediately spring into action. Standing up from the floor, and holding onto the doorknob for when you need to get out. The suspense is ever present, and the cold metal of the doorknob seeps into your gloves and you swear that it is made of ice. Marth draws his sword, prepared for the fight that could ensue if this is the killer.

But nothing can be heard other than some muffled speech. You and Marth look at each other, silently telling the other that this is probably a friend. The talking isn't frantic from what you can hear, even though all you can hear is Peach's voice being calm. You press your ear closer to the door, hoping to hear clear words and phrases.

You catch a couple of words, and judging by context she is probably informing the person of what's going on. Chances are that they're a friend, then.

They keep talking, and you hear her talking about you and Marth being inside the room waiting to spring the trap, and you let your guard down as you deduce that they must be a friend.

Nothing surprises you more when you hear a shriek, and a rough voice yelling to stay back. You figure they have things under control, and there is a thump on the door.

You turn the knob to go and help, but when you push on the door it won't budge. All is silent outside, and it causes your adrenaline to kick in as you push against the door with all of your might. Seeing your struggle, Marth jumps in and helps push, and finally the door budges but not by much.

Both of you push as hard as you can, and the door gives. You think that you might have broken it, but to your surprise it swings open and both of you are sprawled on the floor in the hallway. You rub your head but don't get up, forgetting why you were trying to open the door in the first place. It hits you like a tidal wave, and you look around but see nothing.

Your vision gets darker as something is shoved over your head, and you hear a muffled yell come from beside you—presumably Marth. You struggle after the gravity of your situation is revealed, and you try to yell but you feel out of breath. Moments later, you feel something hard come in contact with the back of your head, and you fall into unconsciousness.

* * *

Your eyelids feel heavy when you try to open them, and once you finally succeed you are met with darkness again. As your memories return and you remember your situation, you try to move and feel tight ropes all over your body, trying to restrict your movement as much as possible. Your breath quickens because you know you're trapped and it is just _too_ _dark_.

The source of darkness is gone soon when that bag is pulled off and over your head, and you blink a few times to adjust to the—although still dark—lighter room than the inside of the bag. You cannot move very much, and can only see the ceiling of the room that looks just like the ones in the bedrooms of the mansion. You figure that you must be in one of them, although you're not sure whose room.

That's when suddenly someone is leaning over your face, watching your expression. If you could jump in surprise you would, but now you can see them clearly, and your blood turns cold.

"Luigi."

"Mario."

He smiles at you and your gut twists at the thought of your own brother causing all of this, and more questions appear in your mind than answers. He moves away from you and walks to the left, and you manage to tilt your head slightly to see him in your peripherals standing near his bed.

"What happened to the others?" you ask, even though you are scared out of your mind. Distracting him might aide you in your escape.

"That's not important," Mario responds in a sharp manner, and you try to think of something else to say.

"But why? Why won't you tell me?"

"Don't want to."

"Why?"

"It won't matter, you'll be dead soon anyway."

You knew that he would say something like that, but you're still terrified at the thought of dying like this. You feel like the shadows will swallow you, and you can just imagine your brother telling you to suck it up as he is taking your life.

You close your eyes to help ease your fears, because you're safe inside your own mind. You steady your voice and slow your breathing in an attempt to remain calm.

"What happened to Marth and Peach, though?"

"What do you think?"

You feel something catch in your throat, but try to keep your voice even and calm. "You killed them?"

He pauses this time, almost in consideration, before replying in hesitation, "Yes."

It seems he's had enough of your questions as you hear footsteps near you. You open your eyes and watch him, but he has a sad smile on his face. It looks almost to be a smirk, but in the dark you really cannot tell.

"It's over Luigi; you're over with. Goodnight."

He says it as if you will wake up in the morning, and that this is simply a dream.

You know it isn't, and your reply reflects that:

"…Goodbye."


End file.
